Tale of Titania's Idiot
by Deadfang1
Summary: REWritten! MY FIRST FAN-FICTION EVER so please be gentle! What happens when one of the most powerful wizards in Fairy Tail crosses paths with a certain cheerful dark blue simulation trooper from another universe? Will she let her sword do the talking or her heart? [ErzaXCaboose]
1. Chapter 1

**[A/N] Hello everyone. Here it is the newly redone, rewritten and revamped chapter 1 of Tale of Titania's Idiot. I know my first attempt was rather... sad... BUT i have returned after recieving a little writing help... from my sister no less... ANYWAY I hope you all enjoy and please leave comments and constructive critism.**

Chapter 1: A new Adventure

Everything was rather quiet aboard the UNSC Harvest. Too quiet... Way too quiet considering who the ship was transporting.

The Reds and Blues of project Freelancer. After the fight against Charon Industries the UNSC Arrived to assist in mopping up the leftovers. Now they are in Slipspace en-route to Cairo station above Earth to be recognized as "Heroes of Peace". Hosted by Lord Admiral Hood himself no less.

With hours to kill before their arrival the reds and blues go about their own way arround the ship. Sarge and Lopez are working with the Qurtermaster in the armory. Simmons is trying and failing to keep Grif from eating everything in the mess hall. Tucker is off flirting with a cute Ensign on the ship's bridge while Doc is in the Sickbay. Carolina and Washington are sparring in the hanger showing the younger recruits how it's done. Donut is in his quarters doing... something. All the while Caboose is... OH CRAP WHERE'D HE GO!?

Meanwhile...

Roaming the halls and corridors of the ship is a certain blue soldier accompanied by his AI enhanced rifle/companion named Freckles. His cheerful voice tears through the silent hums of the ship.

" This ship is huge! I knew exploring was a great idea!"

"Captain Caboose this is the third time we have gone through this hallway. Perhaps we should-" Freckles attempted to say before Caboose cut him off.

"Now, now Freckles... You have to admit its a very interesting hallway..."

"Sir there are other hallways to look at" Freckles stated.

"...Why didn't you tell me that earlier!?"

Freckles didn't respond.

Continuing on his way Caboose came across a long corridor lined evenly on one side with small doors.

"OOH Look... doors!"

As they enter the closest door they see a small room with chairs lining a small walkway leading to another chair facing a window over a small control panel. Naturally Caboose decides it's best to push ALL OF THE BUTTONS.

"BEEP BOP BOOP BEEP" He recited enjoying his newfound fun.

'SHLINK'

Turning to see what caused the odd noise he asked to no one in perticular.

"What was that?"

The doors had closed and now were refusing to open despite how hard Caboose try to open them. Returning to the control panel he tried his best to figure a way out of his strange room. Caboose sat for a second trying to think this through. Then he realised...

"Oh man, I am so dumb... FRECKLES! HELP! THE DOOR WONT BE NICE TO ME !" He called out to his robotic friend attached to his back.

"Use the release to the left of the door." The rifle replied in it's monotone voice.

"AH... yes... the left... that's with... on the other... uh... eeni meeni miny... **THIS ONE!"** As he punch his armored hand clean through panel on the right side of the door.

Computer: "SLIPSPACE Jump Security Override Engaged. Launching Escape Pod Number 254 in 3...2...1..."

"Tucker did it!"

'BOOM'

Meanwhile In Fiore Natsu faces down the "Sallamander"and his thugs after Lucy used Aquarius to send the ship filled with hypnotized woman; including herself, that were going to be sold off as slaves, back to shore.

"...Im not gonna let you dirty the Fairy Tail Guilds Name!" Natsu roared from atop the overturned ship.

"What are you gonna do about it?..." Salamander returned with a sneer.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH"

" Where the heck is that coming from?" Lucy questioned while craning her neck to find the source.

"What the...?" Natsu stated as he glimpsed something from the corner of his vision.

All Lucy sees is a streak of blue fall from the sky and slam into the beach between her and Natsu. The Impact kicks up sand and dust but as the dust clears she can see an armored blue figure kneeling in the crater it made. As it stands to its full towering height it speaks.

"Wow... I was RREEAALLY HIGH..." Looks at Lucy with its gold faceplate and gently waves "Hello! MY name is Caboose!"

Lucy, Natsu and just about everyone in the area are dumbstruck as they stare at what looks to be a giant blue suit of wierd looking, massively tall armor. Not to mention the fact that the voice eminating from the armor is strikingly similar to a young kid.

Salamander is first to break his from his dazed state. "AHEM!" Everyone looks his way. "Kill the blue one first."

"With pleasure boss... hehe." The leading thug states with a twisted grin on his tanned face.

The thugs pull their blades,knives and axes as they advance on Caboose. Natsu Engages the fake Sallamander with his Fire Dragon Roar, after eating the flames of Sallamander's first attack. Happy; Natsu's blue cat; explains to Lucy about his Dragon Slayer Magic. Lucy sees a thug go for a downward slash to take out Caboose. She was about to warn him but is astonished as he grabs the blade in his left armored palm crushing it like paper and pulls him close.

"MY NAME IS MICHAEL CABOOSE AND That wasn't very nice!" He yells through his helmet at the cowering punk in his grasp.

As he rears back his fist Lucy catches sight of a blue Magic Circle around the newcomers wrist. On impact with the thugs chest he flies past her and clean through the hull of the beached ship. The ship then violently explodes from stem to stern, ripping itself apart while raining debris all over the beach. The remaining pirates and thugs turn tail and run leaving only five left.

"That's it! You're going down first! Then we're gonna teach that blonde brat why you never mess with a man's SHIP! **GET HIM!** " The largest of the group yelled hefting a huge axe with him. They all charge hoping to overwhelm the stranger but this is short lived when their adversary charges too! Again Lucy notices blue Magic Circles only this time around his **ANKLES?**

"What kind of magic is that?" Lucy asked quietly to herself. Happy didn't respond obviously not hearing her.

The moment they collide four thugs are tossed throught the air and hit the sand hard; knocking them out while the bigger axe-wielding pirate takes the brunt of Caboose's charge. He staggers back but recovers enough to swing his his blade in a horizantal swipe. With no escape the blade is about to connect when it stopped just inches from his side; errupting in a golden glow that then disappears leaving no trace, not even scratching the paint. On impact with the gold glow the axe snaps just below the head leaving the pirate confused as he shifts his gaze between the sad remains of his weapon and the stranger. After about ten seconds of this he finally snaps running through town as if the devil himself was on his tail.

"Yeah... I don't think he'd make a very good teacher... He yelled alot." Caboose deadpanned.

At this point both Lucy and Caboose watch the false Sallamander as he richochets off multiple buildings before slamming head-first into a large bell. Lucy finds herself looking at the wreckage of nearly **HALF** of the city. "Oh wow that was amazing... but they overdid it!"

"It wasn't my fault... someone put a boat in my way..." Caboose added innocently toward Lucy.

Before she could respond her attention is drawn to the sound of marching troops moving through the city towards them.

"The Army?" Lucy said unsure what to do.

"Crap we gotta get outta Here..." Natsu screamed as he grabbed Lucy and started to drag her away.

"Hold on! Wait! What about him?" She said pointing to Caboose as he poked an unconcious thug with his metal boot.

" Oh... Right, him. HEY BIG BLUE, LET'S GO MAN."

"HEY CABOOSE!" Caboose perked up as she said his name. "Why don't you come with us?" Lucy suggested in her soft soothing voice.

"YAY! More friends! Wash is gonna be so amazed... Or not care... OH WELL!" He yelled out cheerfully. Seeing this left Lucy giggling like a little girl while Natsu was just more confused than ever. Regardless Natsu grabs Lucy's hand as well as Caboose's and starts to take off in the opposite direction of the approaching soldiers. Towards the FAIRY TAIL guild hall.


	2. Chapter 2

**[A/N] HELLO i know after reading this it looks like I'm dragging this out but bear with me as the story continues. To compensate for that Chapter 3 should be up within the next 48 hours. Please leave a comment or constructive criticism because I really do appreciate it.**

Chapter 2 My New Friends

"Natsu do you even know where your going?" Lucy sighed wearily as the trio trudged onward. They had been keeping a brisk pace since making a run for it back at the port. The darkness has begun to descend over the forest which would soon make navigation impossible.

"Of course I do, Lucy just relax already." Natsu answered for the umpteenth time today. "We're just a-ways outside Magnolia and we'll be there by tomorrow. C'mon we can set up camp under those trees there." He stated as walked about ten feet off the road and unceremoniously dumped his heavy bag much to Happy's dismay as the cat was just resting on top of it.

"Why didn't you guys tell me this was a camping trip! Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, can we make S'mores!? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE?" Caboose questioned as he bounced up and down sounding more like a kid in a candy store than some stranger that blew up a ship by punching a guy's head through it. This behavior easily earned a giggle from Lucy while Natsu and Happy were once again left as confused as ever; their eyebrows nearly tearing themselves off with how high they were.

"Oh... I'm sorry Caboose. I wish we could but we don't have the stuff to make them. We can still get a fire going right Natsu?" She looked up just as the Dragon Slayer tossed a fireball into a pile of would he had been collecting while Caboose had been distracting her. The fire roared to life casting a warm, welcoming glow. "So Caboose what kind of magic do you use?" Lucy asked intrigued as she sat on a nearby log.

"Wait your a wizard?!" Natsu blurted out as he dropped onto the log next to Lucy with Happy on his shoulder already out like a light.

"Ooh... My friend Tucker once tried to teach me this trick with his playing cards but after five minutes he kinda just jumped off the base yelling something about stubborn bulls... which is odd because i don't remember us seeing any... Oh well." He answered completely oblivious to Lucy's meaning as well as Natsu's question as he plopped down spread legged on the ground.

"No, no I mean back on the beach when you punched that guy you had a Magic Circle on your wrist. and when you charged those others there were two more on your ankles." She said pointing to his armored boots.

"You saw that too! I thought I was going crazy!" Happy exclaimed suddenly joining the conversation. Lucy only nodded in response.

"Beats me. Maybe it's because I ate my veggies like my Mom told me to?" Caboose wondered out loud, staring off into the sky.

 **"WHAT?! How could you not know about your own MAGIC?!"** Both Natsu and Lucy yelled, wide eyed at him. Caboose flinched at the sudden outburst but then just shrugged his shoulders.

"Caboose why don't we test this out. Go punch that tree as hard as you can." Natsu told him. Caboose got up and sauntered over humming an unfamiliar tune. The tree Natsu pointed to was easily five feet in diameter and too tall to see the top. Caboose wound up and went for a right hook and once again the Magic Circle appeared as his fist tore through the trunk ripping a massive gaping hole. After a few seconds the tree could no longer take it's own weight and dropped with a loud crunching thud.

"OK that was cool... remind me to not start a fight with you Big Blue." Natsu was grinning ear to ear while Lucy was simply awestruck at his strength.

" _How odd... this guy has the strength to tear apart a city without hardly any effort yet he's seems to be nothing more than a sweet innocent kid."_ Lucy pondered to herself as Caboose took his place on the ground on the other side of the fire once again humming to himself. Her thoughts were interrupted when a huge clap of thunder blasted overhead. A huge thunder storm had rolled in from the west and began it's downpour. Thankfully the trees blocked out the rain with their thick canopy. What really caught her by surprise was what Caboose did.

"AAAAHHHHHHH... Lucy HELP, the sky is angry!" Before she could react Caboose was already at her side hugging her waist with his helmet pressed to her stumuch. She was about to give him a serious smack down like she had done with so many other perverts when she realized... **this wasn't an act**. She could barely feel him trembling slightly in his armor. For a moment she froze not really able to react to a situation she never even could have imagined. But then out of the blue it clicked. " _You poor thing..."_ was all she could think as she slowly wrapped her arms around his massive form as best she could. Patting his back and whispering that everything was okay was all she could do to comfort him as he flinched slightly at every clap of thunder. Looking over to Natsu he was dumbstruck at the sight of the massive powerful behemoth seeking comfort from Lucy from a little storm. He simply shrugged as he was just clueless. She shifted her and Caboose's position so she was leaning back against the log with Caboose still clinging to her as if she'd disappear if he let go. With both the fire and the storm dying down Natsu dropped onto his sleeping roll and they all drifted off to sleep.

With the rise of the sun, Natsu awoke to a real sight. Lucy was still snoozing against the log while Caboose seemed to have unfurled himself from her waist and was softly snoring through his helmet with his head in her lap. Then a thought popped into Natsu's head... well two actually. The first was " _this is actually kinda cute"_ and the second was; " _how the hell did he sleep in that armor?"_ A question for another time. He quietly went about packing up his sleeping roll letting his new friends snooze a bit longer.

The next to one awaken was Lucy who opened her eyes to see Natsu and Happy looking at her with soft smiles. She gave them a questioning look, still too tired to strike up a conversation. They only responded with Happy chuckling to himself while Natsu shook his head smiling and pointing to her lap. That's when she finally noticed the weight on her legs. Looking down she found Caboose laying next to her using her lap as a pillow. Which seemed redundant considering he still had his helmet on. She couldn't help but smile; " _he seems so relaxed and peaceful as opposed to last night."_

"Caboose... It's time to get moving." She said softly while gently shaking his shoulder. Or at least the armored plate covering it. Surely enough he came around lifting himself to a sitting position next her. He looked up at his surroundings and as his gaze fell on Lucy he suddenly remembered everything that happened last night. He immediately looked down and started fiddling with his hands.

"Thank you Lucy." He spoke just barely above a whisper. She gave him a warm smile as she stood up bringing him into a hug which he reciprocated happily yet gently due to his size. As they pulled apart he continued "Usually my friend Freckles would help me out keep me distracted and everything but we got separated when we got here. I hope he's okay."

"Don't worry Big Blue we'll help you find your friend once we get back to the guild." Natsu stated slapping Caboose's shoulder... and immediately regretting it. His hand turning tomato red and grinding his teeth. "Owe..." He whimpered sadly holding his hand up.

"OKAY! Let's GO!" Caboose cheered; his mood had improved dramatically at hearing his new friends would help him find his old buddy,as he walked off... in the wrong direction.

Natsu and Lucy shared a look, eyebrows raised before calling out."Caboose the guild is the other way."

"I knew that... just got turned around that's all." He said as he turned arround and walked back without missing a beat.


	3. Chapter 3

**[A/N] Hello again everyone. For those that were a little confused about the last chapter, I was using it as a way to show the sisterly role Lucy will be taking on as the story continues. As always please leave a comment about the chapter or throw me some constructive criticism. All of which is greatly appreciated. THANK YOU!**

Chapter 3 **:** Welcome to the Family

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Announces Happy as the trio walk to the front door of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. Lucy is smiling ear to ear while Caboose was impossible to read with his helmet covering his face.

"We made it back alive!" Natsu yelled as he booted open the front doors. A chorus of hellos and welcome backs echoed through the packed main hall filled with all sorts of people. Lucy and Caboose were cheerfully enthralled right up until Natsu started beating a buck-toothed guy to a pulp. Then the entire hall exploded into a massive all out brawl.

"Hello, are you new here?" Came a soft voice from behind them, drawing Lucy and Caboose's attention away from the fight. There stood a young woman with snow-white hair with a small pony-tail on top and gentle blue eyes clad in a nice red dress.

"It's Mirajane! In the flesh!" Lucy recognized her from her favorite magazine. Mirajane simply responded with a soft smile. "Um... shouldn't we try to stop them or something?" Lucy said gesturing to the rest of the guild hall fighting.

"It's always like this around here." Mirajane said right before almost getting taken out by another wizard that was sent flying through the air. Luckily Caboose managed to pull her back out of the way just before impact then placed her back on her feet. "Oh!... Thank you for that. Silly Elfman try to be more careful." Said wizard simply twitched for a minute before hopping to his feet and walking over to them.

"You protected my sister like a real man! I like you already strange statue man." Elfman roared to Caboose. He swiftly clapped him on an armored shoulder with similar results as to what happened to Natsu he could reply Caboose then jumped sideways in front of Lucy startling her a bit but catching Grey Fullbuster; a powerful ice wizard and rival of Natsu, just before he could bowl her over. Grey simply ignored them not even noticing the blue behemoth and jumped away from Caboose, then went back after Natsu.

"Thanks Caboose." Lucy said sighing heavily in relief. Before Mirajane could continue a loud yell went through the hall.

 **"WOULD YOU FOOLS STOP BICKERING LIKE CHILDREN!"** The Hall immediately went quiet at the sudden shout that originated from a small man in an orange jester hat and shoes with a white mustache. After a quick rant about what magic is all about, everyone managed to settle down and go back to their own business. Mirajane introduced him as master Makhorov, the mage in charge of Fairy Tail. "Oh look new recruits?" to which Lucy nodded still amazed at the man's appearance.

"I'm Lucy and this is my friend Caboose! We were hoping to join up with your guild!" Lucy stated a cheerful smile gracing her face. MiraJane asked them about what types of magic they use to which Lucy responded; "Well I'm a Celestial wizard but my friend here has a magic I've never seen nor heard of before. His magic seems to encircle certain parts of his body as he fights. It's kinda cool really." Lucy, Mirajane and Makhorov all looked toward Caboose questioningly for a moment.

"Hey... Everyone is looking at me... I love when they do that. HI EVERYBODY!" Yelling out the last part drew the attention of some nearby wizards that gawked at the odd looking person in the hall followed by soft murmurs from the onlookers. Caboose paid them no mind as he looked down at the master. "Your hat is AWESOME!"He yelled out raising his arms in emphasis. Mirajane and Lucy giggled to themselves and the master smiled at his childish demeanor. Mirajane then walked off behind the bar.

 _"So much for the strong silent type. Something tells me working with this guy will be very interesting."_ The master thought to himself as he took in the appearance of the towering man clad in strange blue armor. "So you want to join our guild eh lad?"

"If it means I get to make more friends then YES!" He cheered. Lucy jumped up to hug him around the neck from behind while the others chuckled.

"Excellent. Now... it sounds like you have some kind of acceleration or amplification magic... I think I would've heard of such a thing if it existed. Odd..." He scratched the back of his head, narrowing his eyes at the man. Caboose; starting to feel uncomfortable under his gaze, quickly jumped behind Lucy peaking over her shoulder while Lucy just smiled and rolled her eyes. Thankfully Mirajane appeared with a magical stamp and the master went back and sat on the bar. Giving Lucy the guild mark on her hand, she then turned to Caboose.

" Where would you like your mark Caboose?" She asked politely.

"Can you put it here on my armor?" He asked pointing to his left shoulder plate.

" Sure but you should also have it on you as well for when you don't wear your armor." She told him as she applied a white colored mark on his arm.

"Ooh ooh OK! I want it just like Lucy! She's my first friend that i made here." He cheered earning yet another giggle from the girls. Caboose removed his glove showing the first sign he was in fact human. He got a blue mark on the back of his pale hand while Lucy's was pink. While Caboose was looking around Mirajane went back to the bar and Lucy went over to talk with Natsu by the request board. They then both headed towards the door.

"Lucy, where are you going?" Caboose yelled after his friend.

"I'm gonna go help Natsu search for Macao and bring him home , you wanna come help?" He nodded quickly then follwed her out the door.

After a few hours on the road with Natsu swaying from motion sickness the group found themselves on a high mountain range being blasted by a snowstorm. Caboose and Natsu had no trouble with the deep snow but Lucy was struggling. Caboose decided to carry her the rest of the way once again astounding her with his strength. What she found odd about the whole situation was the metal parts of his armor were unaffected by the cold staying a lukewarm temperature while a small set of vents on his back were expelling hot air helping keep her warm. As they neared the summit they were attacked by a strange looking monkey that slammed Caboose into the snow, tossed Natsu aside then ran off with Lucy toward a cave all the while she was yelling for them to help. After racing to catch up they finally enter the cave but Caboose suddenly slips on the icy floor and slamming into a nearby ice pillar. While Natsu tried to deal with the creature, Caboose was distracted by an icicle hanging overhead. As he pulled it from it's place a larger piece of ice broke away from the ceiling ahead of him and fell on top of the monkey. Looking between the two he nonchalantly chucked the icicle behind him and started whistling innocently.

"Well now how are we supposed to find Macao? That thing could've led us to him." Lucy asked Natsu who simply rubbed the back of his head unsure what to do. Before he could answer they were blinded momentarily by a light that revealed Macao with a large bump on his head out cold .

"Found him..." Happy deadpanned to the others. "Looks like he put up a heck of a fight. Nut the creature must have possessed his body during the battle."

"Come on let's get him home." Natsu hoisted up his friend onto his shoulders and headed out. Caboose then turned to Lucy.

"LUCY! INITIATE OPERATION 'PIGGYBACK'!" He crouched down slightly and she jumped on laughing as they made their way down the mountain back toward home.


	4. Chapter 4

**[A/N] Hello hello... yeah first off i'm sorry for my non existent posting schedule. I'm gonna try to dial it to a chapter every week. Little FYI... But here is what I know your waiting for; when BLUE crosses paths with a different kind of RED.**

 **"Do you mean 'light-ish' RED?"**

 **... NO AND GET OUT of my story DONUT! Anyways... please leave a comment about the chapter or throw some constructive critisism my way. All of which is greatly appreciated. THANK YOU!**

Chapter 4: Blue is a little Red

With Macao successfully rescued... sort of...(on account of him still being unconscious from a certain piece of ice that "randomly" fell from the ceiling) and returned to his son back in Magnolia; Lucy Natsu and Caboose are relaxing back at the guild. Natsu had once again stormed off to start a fight with Grey while Caboose was sitting on the floor with one of Lucy's spirits sitting on his head. The small snow-man looking spirit that Lucy had nicknamed "Plu" was hanging upside-down staring at his face-plate, trying to figure out what a reflection was. The reason Caboose was seated on the floor was due to an unfortunate incident involving a crushed bar stool.

_FLASHBACK_

"Caboose it's alright. We know you didn't mean to brake it." Mirajane spoke as a mother would to a child while softly patting Caboose's arm. His head hung low as he stared at the splinters that had once been a bar stool. "No one could've expected that would happen."

"She's right big guy. Besides, no one is blaming you for it... it's just a stool." Lucy stepped in front of Caboose effectively pulling his attention away from the mess and onto her.

Caboose's helmet tilted to the right as he stared at Lucy. He stayed silent for a moment before he spoke just above a whisper. "...You're not gonna yell at me?"

Lucy and Mirajane gave each other a look of sheer disbelief before Mirajane replied in a soothing manner, "Of course not! Why would you think that we would?"

"Well Chuch would do that whenever something happened around the base... It was kinda scary..." He replied as his gaze once again hit the floor. Before he could respond two pairs of arms had wrapped around him. Mirajane had wrapped around his torso, her head on his chest-plate while Lucy had jumped up his back to hug around his neck. He hugged back feeling all the positive energy from his new friends course through him.

"Well that's not gonna happen here! You're part of Fairy Tail now and Fairy Tail is Family!" Lucy stated triumphantly from over his shoulder with a fist in the air . Jumping off she said while holding up one of her keys, "I know how to cheer you up!"

_FLASHBACK END_

After a few minutes Plu had to return to the spirit world so Lucy and Caboose headed to the bar joined by Natsu and Happy.

" My rent is gonna be due next week so we should probably take a job. Don't you think guys?" Lucy inquired to Natsu who was sulking with his chin on the bar. Happy rested on top of his head gnawing on a fish while Caboose just kept looking around, oblivious.

"Aye! We're running out of food money!" Happy said around a mouthful of his meal. Natsu just hummed in agreement while Caboose... was still looking around,... still oblivious. Lucy just sighed and went over to the Request board. Looking it over she saw jobs listed, "Finding a magic bracelet, breaking a spell on a cursed cane, reading someone's horoscope, HUNTING A VOLCANO DEMON! Jeez I had no idea there were so many."

"Let me know if you find one you're interested in. The Master is away at a Guild Masters conference so i'm covering for him." Mirajane explained to her. "Just so you know, that's where guild masters get together to discuss and work things out between guilds. It's important for Guilds to cooperate or our system of keeping the peace would fall apart."

"And then the guys in BLACK would show up!" Natsu butted in using an evil voice freaking out Lucy and Caboose.

"TEX! OH NO! NOT THE MEAN LADY! " Caboose yelled this while diving over the bar scattering beer mugs and hiding under it. Natsu blinked in confusion until someone; namely Lucy, smacked the back of his head sending him stumbling forward.

"Stop scaring Caboose like that! Gonna give him a heart attack! For crying out load! Mira and I just got him to calm down about the stool!" Lucy yelled glaring holes through the Dragon Slayer's head. Natsu's only reply was a look that said _'seriously'_. She ignored it and turned to Caboose, "It's safe Caboose. There's no... uh... Tex here."

He poked his helmet over the bar looking left and right to check if the coast was clear. Satisfied he stood up and went back over to them. Natsu and Grey were back at it throwing insults at each other by the time Caboose walked over. Turning to Grey he inquired, "Do you know my friend Church?"

"HUH... How should I know?" Grey replied staring confused at the gold visor guessing where his eyes were.

"Because he can't wear pants either." He deadpanned while pointing to Grey's legs. This was followed by Grey flipping out while Natsu was rolling on the floor dying of laughter and Lucy giggling away at the small joke. Caboose on the other hand was confused as he was being serious. This all ended when another wizard burst through the doors yelling that Erza was back. The entire guild went dead quiet when a red haired female clad in armor stalked into the hall carrying a massive horn of some kind. She slammed it down causing some guild members to jump.

"I have returned. Where is master Makorov?" She questioned. Mirajane replied that he was out at a conference. "I see... Now listen up. While I was on the road I heard some things about Fairy Tail causing nothing but trouble!" She was about to lay into them when she noticed Caboose. "...What is that?" She inquired pointing in his direction.

"That's not a 'what' Erza. That's a 'who'. This is Caboose one our two new members... uh Caboose? Are you OK?" Mirajane's voice was laced with concern as she noticed the blue warrior hadn't moved an inch since Erza's arrival. She gently patted his shoulder snapping him out of his funk.

"You're really pretty." He said just above a whisper.

At that point everyone in the hall had dropped their jaws to the floor and their eyeballs nearly exploded. They all expected their newest recruit to have a funeral set for him in a few days after they found what was left after Erza was done with this was not the case.

With her hair down, nobody noticed the tiniest hint of blush that went through her cheeks as she stood somewhat dumbfounded by his voice. _"By his size I expected another Elfmann; spouting off about his strength... yet he sounds so young and upbeat. That's so odd... AND WHY THE HECK DID I BLUSH?"_ She wondered to herself. Immediately she snapped back to reality and took on a serious face. "If your brave enough to talk like that I'd say your brave enough for a sparring match, let's go." The guild hall held it's breath when she saw he didn't follow. She turned and said, "What's the holdup?"

"I don't like fighting... cause i don't want anybody to get hurt." He spoke softly while staring at the floor. His metal boot toed into the floorboards, obviously nervous under her gaze.

Once again he surprised her. _"Most new members would be eager to prove themselves as worthy of joining this guild while he not only detests fighting he fears for the safety of others... Full of surprises aren't you?"_ She was truly impressed. "Very well... Then why don't we try something simple. Take off your helmet."

Caboose's head snapped up to her so fast it nearly flew off his shoulders. He started looking around nervously until his eyes went to Lucy and Mirajane next to him. Lucy gave him a thumbs up while Mirajane smiled softly to him with a reassuring nod. Taking a deep breath he reached up and popped off his helmet.

Placing his helmet down on a nearby table nearly the entire guild gasped. Erza was entranced by him. He was obviously close to her age. He had pale yet healthy skin with a bit of blush that he tried to hide by refusing eye contact. His blonde hair that was a shade darker than Lucy's and was short in a military crew cut, but what really got her was his eyes. Light blue orbs radiating happiness were set into his boyish face. It was as if his eyes said _'With me you'll never be sad or bored'._ He had a small scar on his chin and another over his right eye. She couldn't help the heat that ran to her face as she looked at him. Overall he was quite handsome and judging by his body...

She mentally slapped herself to stay out of those thoughts. _"Get a hold of yourself. He's just another probably didn't mean what he said... But what if he... No. Stop."_

"Uh... Lucy I think I broke Erza!" Caboose's voice finally broke Erza out of her mental debate.

"Mirajane how powerful is he?" Erza asked ignoring his comment. She explained how the Master believed he was extremely powerful with his strange unknown magic and the story of how he arrived in Fiore. "Hm... I see..." She turned back to Caboose who had a slight smile on his face that seemed to send a wave of warmth over through her chest. Wait...What? She shook it off. "You, Natsu and Grey will join me at the train station tomorrow. Something urgent has come up and I need all your help to deal with it."

Grey and Natsu stared at each other for awhile but the silence was broken by Caboose as he pulled his helmet back on."I like her. Carolina never wanted to work with me. Then again she didn't like anyone." Lucy couldn't help herself but giggle at this while Erza just raised an eyebrow then just turned away to go about her business Still unsure how she felt about the newcomer.

Mirajane thought to herself _, "Natsu, Grey, Erza and Caboose? This could easily be one of the most powerful teams in Fairy Tail."_


	5. Chapter 5

**[A/N] Sorry if this took so long but here's the next chapter. I swear the next one will have plenty of action in it. At any rate please leave a comment or constructive criticism. I really do appreciate it.**

 **Chapter 5: I like Trains**

At Magnolia town train station it was the total opposite of quiet. Natsu and Gray were once again at each others throats much to the disapproval of the entire station. Both of them spewing the same insults and flaring their magic up like puffer-fish trying to make themselves intimidating. All the while Lucy was sat on a nearby bench hugging Plu trying to ignore the enraged duo. Caboose was standing up next to the bench to avoid any property damage; just looking around taking in the sights, while Happy sat on top of his helmet that he had removed and placed next to Lucy. She and Mira had suggested that he not wear it in public to assure people he wasn't some kind of metal monster.

"Let's just sit here and pretend we don't know them." Lucy was doing her best to look unrelated to the scene the two boys were causing.

"What made you decide to come with us?" Asked Happy around a mouthful of fish that he had been chowing down on since they arrived.

"Mira asked me to tag along to keep them out of trouble. But they're hopeless. That and to keep an eye on Caboose since he's still really new to this place." She sighed knowing full well it was a fruitless endeavor to stop their bickering, thankfully Caboose was there to draw most of the attention away. People kept gawking and staring while kids pointed to the overly tall stranger. Lucy was concerned for her friend as they did this but that feeling dissolved quickly when it seemed he actually enjoyed the attention as the little kids craned their necks up to look at his face. He would smile and give a small wave as they passed. Their conversation was interrupted when Lucy noticed a little girl that snuck up next to Caboose. Lucy tapped Happy on the head to get the cat's attention then pointed at Caboose. He was still unaware of her presence until she knocked on the plating covering his thigh then took of faster than a bullet giggling at her little prank making Lucy chuckle to herself as Happy nearly fell over laughing. Confused Caboose looked around scratching his head but gave up and shrugged it off.

" Sorry i'm late. Have you been waiting long?" At this point Erza arrived dragging what looked like a wagon full of suitcases and bags. Lucy paled at the sheer size of Erza's luggage. Compared to her suitcase and Caboose's small soft case bag that he locked to his left thigh armor (that only had a washcloth and a toothbrush inside for some reason) she believed Erza may have gone overboard. All the while Caboose was trying to figure out what was up with Natsu and Gray suddenly acting all buddy-buddy out of the blue after nearly ripping each others throats out." Good to see them getting along now what was your name? I saw you yesterday at the guild."

"My name is Lucy. I just joined Fairy Tail after meeting Caboose and Natsu. Mirajane asked me to tag along to keep an eye on Caboose and maybe learn a thing or two." Lucy answered as she stood and motioned to Caboose who waved as he walked over to join them.

"The more the merrier." Erza then suggested they move their conversation to the train prompting Caboose to grab his helmet from under Happy, much to Happy's displeasure. Soon the group had boarded the train and were on their way to their seats.

"Hey Erza I'll come along but when we get back to Fairy Tail I want a rematch!" Natsu butted in raising a fist with a determined glint in his eye. Gray was trying to get him to back down but it was useless. Then Caboose piped up while tucking his helmet under his arm.

"OOH OOH can i join? Although I need to get a baseball racket..." He tapped his chin with a thoughtful look on his face. That quickly dissappeared as they passed a food cart. Natsu's voice dragged his attention away from the tasty goodies.

"Why don't you fight me big blue?" Natsu fired back not missing a beat.

"FIght!? Well... You see... um, I'm alergic to things i don't want to do." He said plainly. Natsu and Gray were confused while Lucy giggled bit. Erza rolled her eyes unwilling to admit it was a bit funny.

After taking their seats the train began to move and right on Que Natsu became sick. An unfortunate side effect of using Dragon Slayer magic was extreme motion sickness. Erza quickly rectified this little predicament by knocking him out with a swift punch making Lucy question the guild members sanity.

Thankfully the seats were sturdy enough to hold Caboose's weight without breaking. He was hesitant at first but eventually settled into a comfy spot by the window next to Lucy. After everyone else settled in Erza explained that she believed the Dark guild Eisenwald, lead by the elite wizard assassin Erigor the Reaper, was up to something big that had something to do with ' _Lullaby'._ She overheard at a nearby pub that it had been sealed away and Erigor wanted it badly. "I'm not foolish enough to take on a dark guild on my own." Erza stated.

"So this Lullaby must be pretty bad if a dark guild is after it. That's why you brought me Natsu and Tin-man along. To take them down before the can hurt anybody." Gray concluded. Erza nodded.

Lucy at this point was shaking almost uncontrollably. "I shouldn't have come along."

Everyone's attention was then drawn to clicking sound and saw Caboose had replaced his helmet. He cracked his knuckles and spoke in a calm, quiet voice, "This is going to be a lot of fun..." His gold visor reflected each of their slightly concerned faces. To break the awkward silence Lucy started asking about the others magic while Caboose looked out the window and dozed off. This lasted for the rest of the ride.

On arrival at Onibas Station Lucy, Gray and Erza were still deep in conversation when Happy asked where Natsu and Caboose were.

"How do we lose track of a fire breathing idiot and a seven-foot-tall guy in massive blue armor?" Gray asked while Lucy and Erza face palmed. They pulled the emergency stop for the train then snagged a nearby Magicmobile and tore after the train at high speed with Erza driving, Gray on the roof and Lucy inside the cab with Happy. They were coming along side when the train car in front of them exploded in a shower of splintered wood, twisted metal and shattered glass. In the midst of all this was Caboose, who hit the ground and Nastu, who hit Gray head-on sending them both to the ground. Caboose immediately shot back up and started running after the train.

"Caboose what are you doing?" Erza yelled after him as the others loaded up into the magicmobile.

He yelled without turning back, his voice overflowing with anger, " **THAT GUY HAS FRECKLES!"**

 **[A/N] To the 'guest' that said I made Caboose a baby; Just wait until you see what I have planned for Lullaby! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!**


	6. Chapter 6 Part 1

**[A/N] Hello everyone. I will admit I'm kinda running on fumes here with this story. I really, really, REALLY need some more feedback on this from you guys PLEASE. I cannot read your minds. ALSO a note for 'Thaqif'... If you don't like the way I'm writing this story; either help me make it better with advice and pointers or take your negative unhelpful comments and go read something else. That's the great thing about this site; there are _THOUSANDS_ of other stories here. ANY-WHO... I hope you all enjoy and please leave a comment and/or **_**CONSTRUCTIVE**_ (this is for you Thaqif) **Criticism.**

 **Chapter 6: Putting lullaby to sleep PART 1 (wait... what?)**

Caboose yelled without turning back, his voice overflowing with anger, " **THAT GUY HAS FRECKLES!"** This prompted the group to stare at his slowly shrinking form as he took off after the train, wondering if he had recently lost his mind or whether or not it existed in the first place.

"I didn't see any freckles on that Eisenwald punk. All he had was a weird looking, three-eyed skull flute and something that looked like a weird gun strapped to his..." Natsu was cut off by a sharp smack to the back of his head and a disapproving look from Erza and Gray.

"You flame-brained moron. Eisenwald is the whole reason we're here in the first place! Jeez the least you could do is pay attention when Erza gives a briefing. That flute must be the lullaby." Gray yelled not remembering Natsu was knocked out by a certain redhead before she gave out the mission details.

"This is a waist of time! Let's go or we're going to lose them." Erza said as she hauled everyone back to the vehicle and took off once again in pursuit of the train.

"Wait, did Caboose say Freckles?" Lucy asked earning a nod from Gray while Natsu rolled on the floor of the vehicle, trying not to lose the contents of his stumuch. "Before we got to the guild Caboose talked about how he came here with a friend but they got separated. That must be what he meant! These Eisenwald guys must have his friend!"

"Just another reason to take down this guild." Erza said. She had been listening from the driver seat. _'I can understand fighting for your friends but... I hope he doesn't do anything to get himself hurt.._. _Ugh, what am I thinking... he can take care of himself._ '

"Erza slow down. If you keep this up you won't have enough magic energy for a fight." Gray was worried she would put to much magic energy into the machine and overload it. She ignored him not willing to waste anytime since lives are at stake.

It didn't take long for the group to arrive at the next stop along the railroad; Ochibana station. A group of security outside were yelling at a large crowd that the station was closed from a derailment. Everyone dismounted and headed through the crowd; Erza in the lead with Gray and Lucy carrying Natsu. When Erza approached the security guards for information she saw multiple guards trying their best to hold back an infuriated Caboose.

"We've already sent in a squad to rescue your friend and deal with the dark wizards. They're the best men stationed in this city; they'll have no problems dealing with them." A nearby Captain said in an attempt to placate the towering stranger.

"Then consider us back up. Let's go Caboose." Erza stated, startling the Captain abit. She walked past them grabbing Caboose's wrist and stormed inside doing her best to drag him along. Without realizing it, she had grabbed his arm between the heavy plates of armor. Through the bodysuit he wore, she could feel the mass of tensed muscle. _'If the rest of his body is like this... AAAHHH What am I thinking! I need to focus! Why am I still holding on to him!'_ She immediately let go of his arm fighting the heat running to her face. Erza silently prayed nobody noticed but Lucy did and gave a small smile. As they approached a staircase, they found what remained of the Captain's squad. They had been decimated; their weapons broken and once clean pressed uniforms burnt and torn. Caboose immediately took the lead. He bounded up the stairs, gouging chunks of marble up with his massive boots. The others followed as best they could wondering how he still had this much energy after running here. Once they stepped into the main hall a voice rang out.

"Welcome! Step into our Parlor, Fairy Tail flies!" His voice filled with hate and disgust as if their very appearance was repulsive. Erza instantly recognized him as Erigor the Reaper. He stood atop the train with a large scythe. Below him the entirety of the Eisenwald guild stood around them ready and itching for a fight.

"We aren't threatened by any of you! Tell me What your planning to do with Lullaby!" Erza demanded, not in any mood for games.

"Isn't it obvious? All those gawkers outside trying to get a look at the action. If I can make it loud enough I could take out the whole city with Lullaby's song!" He said as he lept atop one of the stations loudspeakers.

"You want to broadcast the Lullaby song! What reason could you have to hurt the innocent people of this city?" Erza was appalled at their disregard for innocent peoples lives.

"It will be a cleansing of those who wronged us. With these new weapons, we won't need to earn power or deal with the pesky wizard leagues. We'll simply take it and usher in a new era of darkness where we steer to the future we want." Erigor said with an evil grin.

"You know I'm pretty sure soap would work better than a flute. Unless it's flute soap... Garnier Flute-tis?" Caboose wondered out loud causing Erigor to sneer at him.

"What do mean 'Weapons'?" Gray asked not understanding the plural.

Erigor simply chuckled as he drew something from behind his back. A flash of grey metal caught their attention. "With this my assassination contracts will be much easier!"

"Freckles!" Caboose blurted.

"HM?" Erigor was confused for moment before he remembered what one of his lackeys said. The tall blue one called it 'freckles' before throwing him off the train. "Oh you must mean my new weapon. So you know of it. Good, at least you'll see something you recognize before YOU DIE!"

Erza's heart jumped into her throat and time seemed to slow to a crawl when he pointed the weapon towards Caboose's head and pulled the trigger. She honestly believed she was about to witness the death of one of her precious guild-mates. She hadn't known Caboose long but he was Fairy Tail; therefor he was family. But something happened that no-one; from either guild, saw coming. Instead of a bright flash and a loud noise, all they heard was a cheery party whistle followed by a small explosion of colored paper confetti from the barrel. No one said a word in the dead silence until a new voice spoke up.

"Hands Off!" The voice was emanating from the weapon and a small light on the front under the barrel flickered in sync with it. It suddenly seemed to thrust itself backward, slamming Erigor in the face and dropping out of his reach only to be caught by Caboose waiting below. He happily pat the top of the weapon as someone would do a small dog. "Captain Caboose, hostiles have been marked. Be advised: weapon magazine empty. Prepare for hand to hand combat." Caboose nodded and placed Freckles on his back using the magnetic holster to hold him there.

"Alright! Looks like we got ourselves a party!" Cheered Natsu who had finally recovered from his motion sickness. A savage grin crossed his face as he cracked his knuckles.

"This is the strongest team Fairy Tail has to offer! You better be ready!" Lucy yelled out.

"You flies will pay for that! I leave them to you! Show them the terror of the dark guild Eisenwald!" Erigor roared before disappearing seemingly into thin air.

"Natsu, Gray go after him. Against you two even Erigor the Reaper stands no chance." Erza ordered. The two grudgingly complied and took off leaving Caboose Lucy and Erza to deal with the rest of the guild. Erza summoned a magic sword while Lucy summoned a spirit.

And so the battle commenced. Caboose rocketed forward bulldozing anyone in the way. Erza slashed away destroying enemy weapons and incapacitating them. Lucy's spirit; resembling a young man with crab legs poking out of his back known as Cancer, used a pair of scissors to slice up the enemies weapons clothes and... HAIR? One wizard tried to shoot Caboose with an ice spear spell but it shattered against something invisible that shimmered gold then just as quickly disappeared. He stood in awe until Caboose kicked him in the chest sending him through a staircase. Another attempted to stab him with a sword but instead received an uppercut sending him through the ceiling. A big guy with a hammer slammed him against a wall leaving an indent in the shape of his armor. Caboose stepped away and stared at him for a moment. The guy became extremely nervous from the faceless visor's gaze until Caboose gave him a viscous headbutt; knocking him out instantly. He turned back to the indent saying,"Yeah that wasn't very nice." Erza used her magic to give herself silver winged armor. She flew into the air summoning a huge circle of magical swords and blew away the remaining guild members. Then it was over.

She then returned to her original silver and blue armor and nearly dropped to her knees in exhaustion but something held her up. Erza felt herself leaning on Caboose as his massive arm held her shoulders. "Gray was right. I overdid it on the magicmobile. Lucy find the others and help them." She was ready to protest but was silenced by Erza's glare. She took off with Happy trailing behind. "C'mon, we need to warn the people outside." With Caboose slinging her arm over his shoulder he led Erza to a balcony at the front of the station. On the way he scooped up a megaphone from a security booth nearby and handed it to her.

She nodded her thanks and spoke to the crowd,"Listen up! The train station has been taken over by dark wizards. They're preparing a deadly spell that will kill you all. You must get out of here as quickly as you can!" After a few moments the crowd recovered from the shocking news and began moving away.

Erza And Caboose turned back to head inside but were stopped when they saw the station surrounded by a massive dome of swirling wind. Without warning they were pushed through the barrier by Erigor who grinned evilly then flew away on his wind magic. Erza tried to break through but it nearly shredded her arm apart. Caboose pulled her back and had her take a seat against a wall then set Freckles in her lap. She turned to speak to him only to see him charge the barrier at inhuman speed with Magic Circles around his anckles. She felt her heart nearly stop as everything clicked into place. "Caboose! STOP!" But it was to late. The moment he made contact with the barrier an explosion of light blinded her as a shockwave blew her back against the wall behind her. A flash of blue metal caught her attention and she watched helplessly as Caboose was slammed through a concrete wall like a rag-doll before he disappeared from sight.

 **[A/N] DUN DUN DUN Cliffhanger... Because EVERYBODY** _ **LOVES**_ **cliffhangers. Now... I'm gonna go play dragon age.**


	7. Chapter 6 part 2

**[A/N] This took freaking forever... doesn't help that I was swamped with a family reunion and 4th of july back to back. I don't think I've ever seen such a huge stockpile of alcohol and explosives in one place. Please leave a comment for me, i really appreciate it. At any rate... without further ado...**

 **Chapter 6 Part 2: Putting lullaby to sleep** (Man i suck at titles)

"Caboose! STOP!" But it was to late. The moment he made contact with the barrier an explosion of light blinded Erza as a shockwave blew her back against the wall behind her. A flash of blue metal caught her attention and she watched helplessly as Caboose was slammed through a concrete wall like a ragdoll before he disappeared from sight. Erza managed to summon enough strength to get up from her spot on the wall and drag herself to the newly made hole. She used freckles almost like a cane to support herself. Peering inside she found herself looking at a storage room. shelves and crates that once held organized supplies were now strewn out and shattered. Then she saw him. She saw his giant metal gloved hand sticking out from under a pile of rubble mixed with shattered wood and busted glass.

"Caboose? Can you Hear me?!" With no response she trudged forward attempting to dig him out. Yet as soon as she started the whole pile shifted over forcing her to stumble back. Popping out from atop the rubble was Caboose's helmet with a piece of rubble still sitting on top. When he spotted Erza he surprised her.

" Did anybody see that... cause I will NOT be doing it again." He said in his cheery way as if he didn't try to nearly kill himself a moment ago. Erza was nearly ready to explode When Gray Lucy Natsu and Happy showed up. Natsu was helping one of the Eisenwald members who he had tried to convince to dispell the wind barrier. He was wounded by another Eisenwald member in order to keep them all trapped in the station.

"Erza we've got a problem..." That's when Gray noticed Caboose under the rubble. He put his hands up defensively. " Easy Erza... I'm sure Caboose is really sorry for whatever he did."

"I thought I told you to go after Erigor! What happened?"

"Doesn't matter. This wasn't there real target. Erigor is headed to Clover the next town down the line. He's gonna use Lullaby to kill everyone at the Guild Master's Conference!" Gray explained while Lucy helped Caboose out of the rubble.

"WE have to stop him! First we have to deal with Erigor's wind barrier." They were looking at her as if she had grown a third eye on her chin.

"We thought you already did." They all said excluding Caboose. She looked outside and opened her mouth to speak but was caught of guard at the sight of a clear sky and unobstructed sight of the city.

"The ... the barrier... how...?" Then it just seemed to click. She looked over to Caboose's form as he stood next to Lucy who was still trying to dust him off. His armor was dented slightly and the paint was littered with scratches but what sent a twang through Erza's chest was his guild mark on the shoulder pad. While the armor underneath was unfazed the blue paint and white guild mark held a massive jagged gouge right through them. "How did you do it? Destroy the barrier?"

Caboose held up a finger ready to answer but was interrupted by a mechanical voice in Erza's hand. "I can explain that. Based on my scans I manipulated Captain Caboose's shield system to a frequency that would cause the barrier and his shields to nullify each other." Erza handed the machine over to Caboose who nodded his thanks and slung Freckles on his back. She then got in his face, staring straight into his visor.

"That was very foolish and reckless Caboose! You could have gotten yourself killed!" The rest of the group was wide-eyed, thinking Caboose's armor may not save him from Erza's wrath. "...but I can't deny your results. The Barrier is gone so let's stop standing around and go after Erigor already." She started for the exit but stumbled over once again into Caboose.

"Hang on Master Macaroni! We will save you!" He yelled out to no-one in particular. Not wanting to waste time Caboose picked up Erza in a bridal carry. She had no chance to argue as he took off down the hall to the Magicmobile still sitting outside quickly followed by the rest of the group. Natsu took off with happy to intercept Erigor from the air after he placed the wounded wizard in the back. Caboose placed Erza in the back so she could rest while he jumped in the driver seat. "Why are there three pedals if there are only four directions?" After nearly taking out two poles, a stray cat and a mailbox they finally got underway to Clover.

Arriving at the bridge over Clover Canyon the group was met with Natsu and Happy standing over a knocked out Erigor. Everyone dismounted and walked over.

"I'm proud of you." Erza said quite happily. She had manage to recover well during the ride from town but not quite fully. Gray and Natsu began bickering back and forth while Lucy and Caboose were looking at Erigor. Caboose nudged him with his boot but quickly jumped behind Lucy when he twitched. Erza gave off a small smile at this then spoke up again. "Since we're here we should visit the master and see if anyone knows how to properly dispose of the lullaby flute." With everyone distracted, the wounded wizard from Eisenwald snagged Lullaby and took off with the magicmobile leaving the team dumbstruck. "AFTER HIM!" She ordered.

Caboose took off like a bullet. Despite his imense size and armor weight he was still faster than the others. By the time they got to Clover it was already dark out and they were just in time to see the wizard fro before surrender to their guild master. He tossed down the evil flute and fell to his knees. Everybody sprang forward to greet the master.

After everyone was finished Makarov turned to Caboose and looked him over. "You alright son? Your armor seems a little worse for wear."

Oh yeah... I'm doing great. I only went through two walls and the side of a train. I'm good." He responded nonchalantly like it was nothing at all. Makorov however was wide-eyed from his comment.

In a flash of light the Lullaby flight suddenly and violently transformed into a giant three-eyed monster towering over them it's body and limbs resembling a twisted tree trunk.

 **"MMM... Wizards. I do prefer the taste of wizards souls. So I shall consume all of yours!"** The monster roared at the wizards below.

"Do you think souls are really that tasty?" Natsu asked out loud.

"Well... they probably taste better than what I'm used to." Caboose responded not taking his eyes off the monster. Everyone stared at him wide-eyed for a moment before snapping back to reality.

"Ready? Let's go!" Erza said as she drew two swords and changed into her winged armor. With Gray and Natsu she charged into the air. Natsu blazed away with his fire, Gray Launched icy spears through it's body and Erza sliced away at it.

"Caboose! Just like back in the forest with the tree! Go for the legs!" Lucy yelled out grabbing his attention. Charging full speed with his magic Caboose slammed into Lullaby's leg. Erza expected him to only rip out a chunk but instead it's entire ankle was shredded to naught but splinters causing it to fall forward. She was truly astonished at his abilities. Lullaby took Erza's moment of distraction to take a swipe at her. It connected sending her to the ground hard. Readying it's claws for the kill it swiped again. Erza knew she couldn't dodge and she had no strength to block... Was this the end? She felt a gust of wind but then nothing... no pain. Opening her eyes she saw none other than Caboose himself holding back the claws that would have ended her. With a hard twist he ripped the arm clear off it's elbow joint. Spinning around he plunged the claws through it's chest. It roared in agony as Caboose forced it deeper in. Leaping atop the severed limb he climbed to it's head. Erza saw him pull a small green ball from his belt? He forced it's mouth open and tossed the odd object in. He back-flipped away just as Lullaby's head exploded into splinters and smoke. It's body slowly faded away to nothing but dust.

Caboose walked over to the group only to get swarmed by the other masters. Congratulations and thanks were all around. Then as things settled down and the masters headed away Caboose was talking with Lucy and Natsu about getting some food later. They were approached by Erza who had returned to her regular armor. Her walk was filled with purpose and it scared Lucy that she looked like she was after someone. She walked right up to Caboose, looked him in the visor then...

Stood on her toes and kissed his cheek-plate! "Thank you for saving my life...You are a truly honorable warrior." Caboose was stunned to say the least. Thankfully his helmet was on so no-one saw his tomato-red face. Natsu Lucy Gray Happy even Makarov had their jaws to the floor and eyes the size of dinner plates. "What are you staring at?" Erza said with an evil glare.

"Nothing!" They all yelled and took off away from them.

Finally snapping from his stupor, Caboose swept up Erza in a big yet quite gentle hug. Just this once Erza would allow this. After all he was the hero of the day. Her big Idiot of a hero.

 **[A/N] Wow this one would have to be my favorite chapter I've written. FYI I'll be taking a break from this story to work on my other story. Check it out it's also a romance... So sad, I know... Thanks Everybody!**

 **-Deadfang1**


	8. announcement

**Hey everybody... Deadfang1 here. This is a general announcement to let you know that both I and Titania's Idiot are still alive. Problem is... we're stuck... I know I've been '** _ **somewhat'**_ **following the Fairy Tail story line but at the moment I have no idea where to take this whole thing. I know i want to build to that beautiful moment where everything clicks between Erza and Caboose but i don't know how to get there... YET. This is the first story I've written so I could really use some advice, help, tips, tricks or whatever you guys can give me. I'd really appreciate it. So for the time being I will be focusing on my other story Cold Spark which as your reading this, I will be setting up Chapter 3 for that. To be honest with you guys I know the lore for Cold Spark way better than Titania's Idiot. I probably should have left this to my sister since she is way better at this kinda thing than me. At any rate I figured I owed you guys some info since I kinda fell off the face of the planet on ya... sorry. That's all I've got for you guys but please don't hack me apart for this. I still have** _ **NO**_ **Idea what i'm doing.**

 **ANYWAY PEACE!**


	9. Chapter 7

**[A/N] I'm Back! And i hope your still on-board this psycho train cause we're going off the rails!**

 **WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! : EXCESSIVE VIOLENCE AHEAD**

 **READER DISCRETION ADVISED**

 **Chapter 7: Triumph followed by failure**

With their Victory in Clover behind them; the team went home praised as heroes by the guild-masters. One was even kind enough to give them a luxury cabin pass for the train ride home. Erza was strangely in a much better mood than normal while Caboose couldn't wipe this stupid grin off his face. He tried to hide it with his helmet but they all knew it was still there. Natsu's attempts to tease him about it were met by an angry... Lucy.

Yes Lucy had really stepped up into the role of Caboose's big sister. With him stuck here with no way home; she kinda took him in to show him the ways of his new home. Money wasn't a problem since Caboose could easily pull his own weight on jobs. It was space that she thought was the issue at first. Turns out Caboose has no problem not having a room or bed with his undersuit apparently being extremely comfortable. Regardless she still insisted on him at least using the couch and removing the heavy plating. Now the only real problem was when she woke up in the early hours of the morning and wandered into the living room she would often trip over pieces of his armor lying on the floor.

This was one of those mornings.

"Morning Caboo- AAAHHHH!" She yelled as she once again tripped over his helmet sending it rolling across the room. Luckily he was already up and caught her before she hit the floor. He gently pulled her to her feet then she looked at him sternly. "Caboose... How many times have I told you to keep your armor off the floor? Now clean up this mess and make i'll some breakfast. Then we'll head for the guild hall and look for a job okay?" Lucy said as a mother would scolding her child. Caboose's face immediately perked up at the mention of going to the guild ,as he set about cleaning up by reattaching the armor to himself. Lucy couldn't stop the giggle at his childish enthusiasm. As he searched for the last piece, his helmet, he was interrupted by Natsu who burst through the door without even knocking first. As was his custom, nowadays. In doing so he failed to notice the helmet at his feet until it was too late. As he crashed to the floor the helmet shot forward; first bouncing **up** off the wall then **down** off the ceiling and right onto Natsu's head. Oddly enough it landed perfectly with Natsu's head inside the roomy interior. After a moment of silence he fell back to the ground unconscious with a loud **thud**.

"Well at least he was wearing a helmet!" Caboose chimed as he broke the silence with an innocent smile on his face. Lucy was trying so hard not to laugh at the comically poetic justice that was unleashed on her friend for constantly busting in to her home. Ultimately she failed and wound up on the floor clutching her sides with tears streaming from her eyes.

Eventually they had made their way into the guild hall where they were relaxing; or in Natsu's case recovering, while getting ready to go on a job. Caboose who was checking his softcase to ensure he had what he needed, was aproached by the guild's resident heavy drinker Cana. She loved how his silly antics always made her laugh and they easily became friends. She pushed a big mug into his hands and said "BOOSIE! Try thish new beer Mira got for the bar it'sh amashing." Her slurrs not so subtly indicated how drunk she was despite the fact it was barely 10 in the morning. As she walked off Caboose was about to take a swig when the mug was snatched from his grasp by Erza.

"But Erza! I just wanted a taste." Caboose said wih a pouty puppy-dog look on his face.

"That may work on Lucy, Caboose, but not me. You know what Lucy said, 'no alcohol'. You remember what happened last time? I still don't know how you ended up on the roof and it took forever to get you down. Until you started yelling ' _**I DEMAND COOKIES!'**_ we weren't sure we could get you down."

"I can answer that ma'am." Erza nearly jumped out of her skin when the robotic voice of Freckles cut in from behind Caboose. "Captain Caboose used his armors built-in jump-jets to ascend the structure." Ignoring the talking guns interruption, Erza turned her focus back to Caboose.

"At any rate... I have something much better in mind that you'll like." She then pulled a small tray from behind her and placed it in front of him. Three cookies and a glass of orange juice.

"You're the best!" He smiled as he shot up and picked her up in a big yet gentle hug. Now normally anyone who tried this sort of thing would get an immediate smack down before being sent to the infirmary. For some reason she just couldn't do that with Caboose. She just couldn't; if anything these hugs brought only positive energy instead of igniting her normal anger. What she did next surprised even her. Instead of pushing away out of his grip she leaned forward and settled her head on his shoulder since her arms were trapped at her sides. Oddly enough the cool metal felt comforting for some reason. After about a minute he set her down on the ground before turning back to the tray. For some reason Erza felt disappointed when he let go but shook it off. It was then that Lucy walked up with their next job with Natsu and Gray with her. Erza read the description out loud for the team.

"Destroy a cursed helmet and seal it's mysterious portal. 500,000 jewel reward. Interesting... Well the trains don't go out that way but it's close enough to hike. About three days out from here. Alright lets get moving." Everyone else nodded then set out after a quick meal. The first day on the road was spent in comfortable silence as Erza led them through the mountainous terrain. As the world began to darken Erza was having trouble finding a spot to stay the night until Caboose freaked them all out with his bright helmet lights. He muttered a soft sorry before moving ahead finding a small clearing. Once the sun was completely gone camp was set.

"Caboose where are you!" Erza yelled out as she looked for her friend. Yes, **Friend.** After saving her life in Clover and taking down the Lullaby demon she was proud to say it. Although what she couldn't explain was why she... kissed him. She didn't regret it, she just couldn't explain _why_ she did it. But that was something to ponder another time. The forest was dark and navigation had become near impossible. Thankfully the full moon helped light her way. Somehow the largest member of the group had gotten separated from them... AGAIN. Seven feet tall and blue and still... he was the one they lost. They had spread out but were ordered to remain in sight of camp while she retraced their path. After walking for about ten minutes she had begun to worry when her boot connected with something metallic. She instantly recognized the strange object as Caboose's shoulder-plate; the Fairy Tail symbol in white standing out prominently against the dark blue painted metal. What sent her on high alert was the dark sticky liquid that smelt of copper splattered across the dull metal surface. Glancing to the ground she saw what seemed to be a trail of it leading to her left. She took off as fast as she could manage in the dark while tracking the blood. Along the way she saw something that made her heart lurch. She saw on the ground before her. Freckles. Only... the poor machine was torn in two and smashed to pieces. His little light was flickering for a moment before going completely dark. A dark feeling welled up in her gut as she took off once again. Finally she found herself in a clearing with two others; a fire in the center illuminating the area. One was Caboose but his armor was ripped apart. Missing pieces in some areas including his whole chest-plate with tears in the undersuit exposing his bare skin in others. Even the gold visor was shattered on one side exposing his face. He was being held off the ground by the neck. His obvious attacker was similar to Caboose in size and armor. The only noticeable difference was the orange colored armor and narrow faced helmet. Erza was frozen... literally... no matter how hard she tried she couldn't will herself to move. She was forced to watch in horror as the orange one pulled a large knife from his belt and slammed it into Caboose's chest then violently ripped it back out again. He then vanished seemingly into thin air dropping Caboose against a tree; only then Erza found she could move again. She ran straight for Caboose trying to stop the bleeding. A pained gasp escaped his lips as they made eye contact. A small tear rolled down her cheek but was gently wiped away by Caboose's glove. But... then his eyes closed and his hand dropped to the dirt beside him. As more tears fell from her eyes she leaned forward holding his battered helmet and resting it against her forehead. Through blurry, tear-filled eyes she watched as the rest of her lost friend turned to dust and was blown away into the wind leaving her with a only his hollow broken helmet as well as a hole in in her heart. She knelt there weeping; clutching all that remained of her friend that she failed to save to her chest as the fire died enveloping her in darkness.

 **[A/N] Cliffhanger brought to you by deadfang1 being chased by pissed off Erza with a thousand swords.**


	10. Chapter 8

**[A/N] I'm back form the coma Erza put me in after the last chapter... Helluva swing lady. I know it's short but I think it'll do the job. I am so sorry it took so long but I just got stuck ya know? At any rate here it is and please leave comments and Constructive criticism, I truly appreciate both.**

 **Chapter 8: My Goofball**

She knelt there weeping; clutching all that remained of her friend that she failed to save to her chest as the fire died enveloping her in darkness.

But then it changed. She suddenly felt warmth surround her like a blanket had been draped over her body. With it was an overwhelming feeling of calm, peace and... something else... something she hadn't felt in a long time. After a time she worked up the courge to open her eyes fearing what she would see... or rather _who_ was no longer there. Yet that same sensation of wamth washed those thoughts away and her eyes opened, she was quite baffled. There nestled in her arms, gold visor reflecting her tear-streaked face was the , undamaged helmet _'What? How did...? Was it even real? No... A nightmare... That's all it was... Caboose wasn't... CABOOSE!"_.

She shot straight up but in doing so collided with another very solid object. Erza being naturally hard headed recovered immediately. Rubbing her now aching forehead she stood to see exactly who she was looking for.

"And that is why I wear a helmet..." A silly grin was plastered across his face as he rubbed his forehead as well. In his other hand was a Cookie wrapped in a paper bag but this went completely unnoticed by Erza. Their eyes locked to eachother for just a moment before she, almost hesitantly, strode forward. The thought of being beaten into the ground crossed Caboose's mind when Erza just dropped his helmet mid-stride but that was drown out instantly when she slowly reached up to his face cupping his cheek. Her thumb gently gliding over the scar on his chin.

Overcome with so many emotions that crashed down on her in that second she sprang forward. Caboose, caught completely off guard, lost his balance and toppled backward. As soon as they hit the ground her lips crashed into his slightly fumbling in the process. For just a moment there was no reaction from Caboose but slowly, almost at a snails pace two large arms snaked their way arround her body as his lips pressed back.

It was in this moment everything else fell away. Every dark, sad, or painful memory ;even the horrifying nightmare she had just awoken from, washed away until nothing remained but the warmth, affection and simple love that now radiated between them. This was the moment that made every horrific moment of her past, seem worth it. Who knew all it took to unlock her deeper emotions was super-strong goofball from another world to come into her life.

As they, quite reluctantly, seperated neither spoke a word. Only gentle smiles graced their faces as relieved brown eyes stared into gentle blue ones. Nothing needed to be said; Caboose's reaction spoke volumes to Erza. There was no need for reassurance or any talk at all really; by Erza or Caboose at least.

" Well don't you two look comforbable..." This new voice brought them back to reality where they realised they weren't alone in camp. Sitting there across the now smoldering dead firepit was Natsu Lucy and Gray. Natsu, the one who had spoken, was now giving off the biggest, cheekyest smirk in his entire life. On any other day, Natsu's teasing would end via a hefty beating from the great Titania... but not today. Instead she simply laid her head down on Caboose's shoulder, wrapped her arms arround the back of his neck to pull herself closer, then after a quick peck to his cheek she softly spoke up.

"I'm very comfortableNatsu... so comfy in fact that I've decided to do this instead of smashing that firelog over your head. Now please just let me enjoy this." Her voice seemed to take on an almost begging tone at the end. Natsu's smirk fell for a moment before a geuine smile took it's place.

"Hehe... sure thing Erza. We'll pack up camp ,you guys... enjoy yourselves." With that the three set to work, all the while avoiding the new couple until they set off once more. Two more days of travel went by without a hitch. The new couple were inseperable; either they held hands on the walk or were cuddled up next to the fire. Nearing the end of the third day they entered the deepest and darkest part of the forest. Erza had ordered Gray to scout ahead; much to Natsu's disagreement. Not five minutes after he headed off they heard him yell out.

"Hey Caboose... you might want to see this!" When they arrived they found themselves in the decayed courtyard of an old temple of sorts. Caboose seemed to freeze up for a moment before speaking.

"It's you..."

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.

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"Madre de Deus..."


End file.
